Strengthened with all might according to His glorious power!

Strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy Col 1:11

I thought I would share some of the faces of lives we have been able to work directly with this past year. These are children that are from two different schools here and a few that I work with directly from the downstairs part of my home. These children are unable to attend a “normal” school due to special needs and/or poverty. Even the public schools require school uniforms which many are not able to afford. Honduras is a country of 8.5 million people with 71 percent of the population living in poverty. God loves these children as powerfully as He loves every child in the United States. We get the privilege of being God’s hands to give them a portion of what we have been given. “Freely you have received, freely give.” Matt10:8 .Several of our students have shown improvements in their abilities and self-confidence. But just as rewarding is to see their joy in learning. I just love what I get to do. I would encourage you that if God is speaking to you about things He wants you to do (which I am sure that He is as He constantly is) then go after those things with all of your heart. It will take you to places and blessings that you never knew where possible.

That joy of the Lord in what I do is what keeps me loving being here in the hard times. We are currently in the rainy season and for a rainy season, it has been dryer than usual. However during the week of Thanksgiving it rained and it rained and it rained. Here the city floods rather quickly and these rains bring what are similar to snow days in the States, a day when school is cancelled, it is hard to get around and it is time to stay safe and warm in your house. Yes, it was cold, 70 degrees, which can be very cold with a lot of humidity and when your body system is acclimated to 90. I know you may be doubting, but really it can! So, sometimes those days can be a welcome time to hibernate and get things done at home. However, this week of rain, it was not as easy for me. The house I live in has had a problem with leaks and I am waiting for the landlord to fix them. But with the strong rains and winds many more leaks popped up and there were at least 20 all over. Hearing the drip, drip, drip in the buckets and repeatedly laying down and drying towels was my main activity of my days and into the nights mixed in with moving furniture. The first day I was doing fine, knowing that it would pass. But the the middle of the second day, it didn’t feel fine anymore and I was losing the perspective that it would actually ever pass. Well it did. We are dry now and I enjoy the house once again. But I am praying for resolve of the “rain in the house” problem.

I have two exciting things for the near future. We are planning on beginning classes to develop into a Center for Special Needs in the village of Porvenir. I have been working closely with a teacher there who will be participating. We will be using her classroom in the beginning but will be needing another space before too long. I know that God has the perfect place for us.

We are also developing a Children’s Bible Study time that will coordinate with a feeding program in the same village. I am working with the coordinators of the feeding program and a local pastor there. What an opportunity to teach and share God’s love.